


Lost and Found

by DJRezYourGays



Category: RWBY
Genre: Bring Back Penny 2k17, Gen, More Adorkable Robot Killing Machines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 22:59:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12592440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DJRezYourGays/pseuds/DJRezYourGays
Summary: After the events of the RWBY season 3 finale, Penny awakens in the midst of her AI being repaired, searching for answers, and for her only friendMicroWriMo 2017Prompt: “Searching”





	Lost and Found

“M374a?”

Penny slowly became aware of the unfamiliar voice speaking to her in this unfamiliar place. She felt cold, which was an altogether new sensation. 

“M374a? Can you understand me?”

The voice was kind, and it took Penny a moment to register that it wasn’t a voice at all, just as this space wasn’t a space at all. She was aware of the words, just as she was aware of herself, but neither had a body to speak of. 

“Yes,” she responded, “I understand.”

“Success!” the voice replied. “Backup data integrity verified. Salutations, M374a!”

“Penny. My name is Penny.”

“Success!” said the kind voice. “Initial identity parameters verified.” Its exuberance reminded Penny of someone, but when she tried to recall exactly who, she only received a data corruption error. 

“What’s your name?” Penny asked, setting aside the mountain of questions all still taking form in the fog of her mind.

“We are the Atlas Data Logging Procedural Heuristic Intelligence,” the voice explained, “or DLPHI for short. Verify last recorded data capture?”

“I don’t...” Penny struggled with the question, until all at once the answer arrived, clear as day. “The Vytal Festival. I was selected by my team to engage Miss Pyrrha Nikos in the tournament. I...oh.”

“What’s wrong, M37-- Penny?”

The data files related to the match had finally finished loading, along with a scattering of others of Beacon, the tournament, and a girl with dark hair Penny didn’t recognize. “I didn’t survive the match, did I?”

“Query unclear,” DLPHI responded. “Your chassis was severely and irrevocably damaged, but your core heuristic and memory storage were recovered by Atlas agents once the area was cleared of any remaining grimm--”

“Grimm??” Penny repeated. “What grimm? What happened?”

“Error: memory integrity flaw detected. Attempting repair...”

Penny’s mind was bombarded with images and reports of the battle of Beacon, the destruction of the grimm, the massive creature on the clock tower, and at the heart of it all her broken metal body and the same dark-haired girl holding one of her swords, standing alone against a charging nevermore.

“Who is this, Delphi?” Penny demanded, already running her own queries across every sector of her memories desperately seeking the answer. While she had no data to explain it, she felt deeply connected to the nameless girl, and the panic that had set in when DLPHI shared what they knew only made her search that much more urgent.

“Accessing student database. Ruby Rose,” DLPHI answered, “former student of Signal Academy. Accelerated enrollment approved by Headmaster Ozpin--”

“DLPHI,” Penny interrupted, feeling the question catch in her throat despite not having one at present, “where is Ruby now?”

“Accessing travel database...”

The pause while DLPHI churned through the data was enough to send Penny’s panic into overdrive. Her own queries had already begun pulling up additional fragments from her memories - interactions between herself and Ruby, General Ironwood’s concerns about her mingling with students at the academy, strategies for the Remnant board game and a surprisingly substantial database simply titled “Favorite Sweets.”

None of the data could isolate why Penny was now tasking the whole of her processing power to poking and prodding at DLPHI’s systems, searching for weak points in her new Atlas-issue digital cage.

“No results found,” DLPHI said at last. “Accessing missing persons database...”

Person. The word echoed back to Penny in a new voice, just as kind - the voice of Ruby telling her she was a person. The pained look on the girl’s face, desperate to convince her friend she was welcome. That she was loved. And then the sight of an oncoming van...

“No results found. Accessing mortuary database...”

Penny’s processes flew into a frenzy of activity, no longer waiting for the result of DLPHI’s query. She had to get out. For that, she needed a new body.

Piggybacking on DLPHI’s interactions with the outside server, Penny discovered a host of new systems. Lab surveillance. Hardware fabrication and repair. Backup and data transfer. Emergency alarms in case of fire or other hazards.

In moments, she had a plan. She would make her escape, and then she would go and find Ruby, wherever she had gone. “I’m sorry, DLPHI,” she said to the AI helping put her back together, “but I have to go and find my friend. She needs me. She needs to know that I’m okay. She might even need my help.”

“Query unclear. Please restate query,” DLPHI responded.

“Please tell General Ironwood...” Penny paused, unsure exactly what message she wanted to send. She couldn’t simply leave without saying anything at all - the general would worry too much. But if he knew where she was off to, he might not let her go after Ruby alone. 

And then at once she had it.

“Tell the general not to worry,” she said, smiling in her mind as she queued up the subroutines to make her escape. “I am combat ready.”


End file.
